Ingenia goes on $552m spending spree
Ingenia Communities Group (INA) will launch an equity raising to fund a $552 million spending spree.
In the biggest deal – worth $270m – the holiday and lifestyle community group has snapped up Queensland’s Seachange portfolio from Pradella Property Ventures.
The acquisition includes six land lease communities with 693 established sites and 548 undeveloped plots.
Two of these properties are established, two are part-built (including Seaside Riverside Coomera, pictured, top) while the balance, at Hervey Bay and Victoria Point, are greenfield blocks.
Separately, INA is paying Discovery Parks Holdings $110m for the so called Caravan Parks of Australia portfolio.
With seven assets in New South Wales and Victoria, this deal includes 1400 income producing properties; rental is derived from a mix of permanent, annual and tourism sites.
Three of the investments are in metropolitan Melbourne.
INA also today announced plans to acquire a $24m suburban Brisbane property with the potential to be subdivided for 160 homes.
The balance of its outlay, worth $148m, is for six as-yet-undisclosed east coast assets – four lifestyle communities, one partially under construction in Brisbane, and two holiday parks.
To fund the latest deals, the ASX listed group will now launch a $475m capital raising exercise (story continues below).
Upon settlement, INA’s portfolio will grow in value by c38 per cent to $1.8 billion.
Target: 2000 home settlements by 2024
In a market statement, INA said it is targeting 425 home settlements in the next financial year – excluding the Seachange assets.
“Ingenia has continued to show resilience through 2021 with residential communities continuing to deliver stable cashflows via uninterrupted rent collection through COVID, with no deferrals or abatements,” a company announcement said.
“While government restrictions and supply chain challenges constrain near term ability to capitalize on demand, sales momentum for new homes remains strong, partially driven by heightened demand for sea change/tree change locations,” according to the group.
Holiday parks, by comparison, it said, have been impacted by the pandemic – but expected to rebound “with the easing of restrictions creating a unique opportunity for domestic travel in the medium term”.
INA chief executive officer Simon Owen added the latest transactions, which will add 20 communities and development sites, give the group “significant reach in our key markets”. It is forecasting 1800-2000 new home settlements by the end of 2024.
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